Big Brother: Paul sounds off on facing jury

He thought he had the game in the bag. But he was oh so mistaken. Paul Abrahamian won Big Brother’s final HOH competition on Wednesday night and could choose whether to bring Nicole or James with him. His pick of Nicole may have cost him $450,000.

Does the runner-up regret the decision? We spoke to Paul this morning on Entertainment Weekly Radio (SiriusXM, channel 105) and asked him exactly that, and you can hear the entire interview — as well as our chats with Nicole and James — on the EW Morning Live Podcast below. Here are a few highlights from our chat with Paul.

On if he blew it by not bringing James to the end:

“I don’t know. Honestly, I’m hearing left and right — jury would have done this, jury would have done that. I honestly think that the jury was a little bit bitter and no matter what I would have done, the outcome would have been the same.”

On if he was shocked by the jury vote:

“I was, man. I was a little bit shocked. I don’t know what more I could have done. The most in-house competition wins of the season, cleaning house towards the end of the game, really winning every single competition, and being up against two people who have played the game before. I thought it was a no-brainer, but clearly the jury was a little bit pissed, let’s put it that way.”

On how he felt the jury math would go before the final vote:

“I honestly thought I could beat both of them by either a 7-2 or 6-3 vote. But seeing as how it ended with Nicole — especially with the enemies she had in the house — I knew James created less enemies in the house and Nicole had a little bit more heat on her, so I thought it would be my best move to take her. But clearly seeing how that turned out, I think it would have been the same way with James. I think there was just a slight distaste for how crazy I was.”

On whose vote surprised him the most:

“I was really shocked by Da’Vonne’s vote. I didn’t really understand why she did that. I know she didn’t necessarily like Nicole throughout the game and even though she went out on my HOH, it was discussed that it was what the entire house wanted.”

On if he thinks the best player won:

“I definitely think Nicole worked very hard and had a very good game. Personally, I think I did a little bit more but if that’s what the jury decided then that’s what the jury decided. I don’t think that should take away form her win. She worked hard this season and congrats to her.”

You can listen to the whole podcast — including our interview with Nicole and James — below. Or, since we’re on iTunes, you can subscribe for free and take the podcast with you. To send a question to the EW Morning Live Podcast team, follow us on Twitter @EWMLPodcast. And to hear more interviews and pop-culture discussion and debate, check out Entertainment Weekly Radio on SiriusXM, channel 105.